


Crazy For You

by bitsori



Series: Beautiful Feeling [3]
Category: BLACKPINK (Band), Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Exes, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 06:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16529429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: “It’s funny you ended up in the apartment across mine.” It’s a thought that’s been running through Jae’s mind for the last six to seven hours, but it’s only now that he manages to say it loud.“Isn’t it?” Jennie concurs with a smile. “Maybe it’s the universe’s way telling us that it’s finally okay to be in each other’s lives again.”--or: Jae comes across his ex-girlfriend again after two years; AU.





	Crazy For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silkscream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkscream/gifts).



> [ 1 ] Wrote this for a friend because it’s her birthday and she loves Jae, and she loves Jennie and I love her, so Happy Birthday R! I used some of your favorite tropes, kinda, sorta. I hope you’re having a good day.
> 
> [ 2 ] Also, yes, I’m still on my DAY6 het bullshit, and if you actually clicked on this and are about to read then I appreciate your existence, lmao. ♥
> 
> [ 3 ] All that said, I’m not really sure how I feel about this because I had so many ideas and I’m not sure I executed them well. I tried though - so once again, Happy Birthday R! Because I really did write this with you in mind.
> 
> [ 4 ] Oh, and I’m pretty sure there will be spelling mistakes and grammatical errors I missed while trying to edit this, so advanced apologies.

  
  
  
  
  


It’s late - at least past midnight, definitely, which is why the loud knocking on Jae’s door has him double checking his phone for the time. Sure enough, it says 12:43 AM - and it shouldn’t be a lie because the television he has on in the background is playing some late night talk show at a low volume while he prepares an easy midnight snack of microwaveable popcorn.

He has no idea who could be calling on him at this hour, and his first reaction is to feel annoyed. It’s quickly followed by worry, however, when the idea that it could be the building’s superintendent crosses his mind. As far as he knows, he hasn’t called for any utility issues, and he’s pretty sure that he’s up to date with rent.

“Who is it?” He calls out, quickly pressing the right setting buttons on the microwave oven before he jogs over to pull the door open.

“Hi, I’m—” The woman at the other side starts to greet him, but she really doesn’t need to introduce herself. He blinks once, twice, _thrice_ \- despite her face looking more gaunt, and her makeup more mature than he remembers from the last time he saw her, he easily recognizes her.

“Jennie,” he says, and then _her_ eyes grow wide with recognition of him.

“Jae,” she returns, her arms curling up around herself as she takes half a step back. The action gives him a better angle to study her - she’s all dolled up, dressed to the nines in fancy high heeled boots and a pretty minidress that Jae is sure must cost a fortune. She looks beautiful, chic - but Jennie’s always been stylish like that. Her makeup is impeccably done, but there’s a tiredness in her expression that he easily identifies.

“What are you doing here?” He asks finally, after letting a few moments of silence pass. Briefly, he wonders if she’s there for him - but it makes no sense even for his hopeful heart. It’s been at least two years since they’d last seen each other, two years since Jae has made a conscious choice to purge her out of his life.

“What are _you_ doing here?” She immediately snaps back; she’s on guard, he can tell, but her tone has him recoiling anyway. She must have noticed, because she softens and sighs. “Sorry, um, I—” She looks confused now, and then she motions at the apartment across Jae’s. “I live there now.”

Jae blinks again; this information is a shock to him but he feels like he should have noticed much earlier that his new neighbor is his ex-girlfriend. He knows someone new had moved in three weeks, maybe even four, ago. It was a weekend when he was away, visiting his best friend in Canada, but _still_ \- that’s a while back. How could he not have caught even a glimpse of her all this time?

“I—” He can’t help but let out a derisive laugh. “I genuinely had no idea.”

Jennie shrugs. “I— I didn’t either.”

He wants to keep laughing because what else can he do in this situation? But then he remembers that Jennie must have wanted _something_ if she was knocking on her stranger neighbor's door this late.

“So you just wanted to see how your good ol’ neighbor is doing… past midnight?”

“Oh!” Jennie’s cheeks are already red from her blush-on, but how it turns into an even deeper shade of crimson isn’t lost on him. Embarrassment, Jae calls out in his head, because he can still read her after all this time. “I kind of locked myself out,” she explains, a nervous giggle escaping her. “I was wondering if you had the superintendent’s number? I wrote on a slip of paper, put it up on my fridge and and never saved it on my phone…”

She trails off, and Jae laughs. He hates that he kind of finds this blonde Jen moment cute. “Yeah, I do.” He takes a deep breath, and then he offers her a smile before holding his door wide open. “It’s on my phone, but— uh. I guess, do you want to come in for a bit?”

  
  
  
  


The first time Jae met Jennie was at a fraternity party way back in university.

She was very obviously a freshman, from the way she stood by the side, her eyes bright and curious while she took in her surroundings. Jae still clearly remembers her outfit - a white, off shoulder peasant top with a faded denim mini skirt. She had cute platform sandals on, but even with them, she looked petite - _tiny_ , almost pocket-sized from Jae’s perspective.

Even when he first laid eyes on her, he knew she was out of his league. She had a certain aura around her that made her seem like she was of a different class, like she was _untouchable._ Jae has since developed a distaste for alcohol ('been there, done the wasted act, too old for it now,’ he would reason with friends now), but this first meeting was during a time when it was still a regular part of his life as he’d flitted from party to party, week after week. In hindsight, maybe if Jae hadn’t been buzzed and spurred on by liquid courage, he might not have been able to muster enough courage to approach Jennie. Although, granted, the fact that he was a senior easily added to his put upon confidence, so maybe there was a fifty-fifty chance that he would have, anyway. Besides, _fake it ‘til you make it_ has worked for him throughout his college career, and by the time he was a senior, he’d decided that he might as well live and die by those words.

“Hi,” he greeted after making his way to her side, and up close her doe eyes and pouty lips were even more alluring. “Clarify this for me - I’m still at a college party, right?”

She glanced up at him, looking mildly startled and confused like she wasn't sure if he really was talking to her. “Hm?”

“Because,” he readily continued, a lopsided grin decorating his face, “For a second there I thought I was in a museum, because I’m pretty sure you’re a work of art.”

Her eyes grew wide, and the next few seconds of silence that followed begun to slowly chip away at Jae’s empty confidence. And then she laughed - high pitched giggles that sounded heavenly to Jae’s ears - and he allowed himself to relax, his smile growing even wider.

“Does that work on a lot of girls?” She asked, her head thrown back and one hand covering her mouth because she kept on giggling.

Jae shrugged as if it was no big deal, like he was always an expert at this. “I’m Jae,” he answered instead, working in the introduction like it was the most natural thing for him to do.

He doesn’t get to make out with her, or take her back home that night, but they do get to dance together - her idea, not his, obviously. He has two left feet, but she doesn’t mind because a slow song is playing anyway, which has him not minding either as he holds her as close to him as he can. He manages to imprint her scent into his senses - vanilla, strawberry and some expensive perfume that he’ll one day learn is actually Chanel No5.

  
  
  
  


It’s late, and even after one hour of waiting, the building superintendent still hasn’t gotten back to her.

“Maybe I should call one of my friends instead,” Jennie mumbles, eyes trained on her phone while her thumb frantically slides across the screen as she goes through her contacts. There’s a sort of panic reflected in her expression, and Jae is nothing if not a gentleman. (At least, these days, he can confidently say that.)

“You can sleep here,” Jae finds himself saying, his voice hoarse and sounding quite unsure. “I mean, you can have my bed - I have a nice couch anyway,” he adds with a chuckle, gesturing at the very settee that Jennie is parked on.

She seems hesitant, and probably rightfully so. They haven’t seen each other in so long, and they haven’t been in speaking terms for longer, and if it was the other way around, Jae’s sure he would have turned the offer down. But it’s not, it is what it is, and he doesn’t want her wandering around the L.A. streets at night if she can’t back to her apartment.

“Come on, Jen,” he insists. “It shouldn’t be a big deal.” Their eyes meet and when he offers her a small smile, he notices her shoulders gradually relax. It’s been a while but he can still read her subtle body shifts.

“Alright,” she finally agrees. “Only because the two friends I have in town are both wasted as fuck by now.”

Jae laughs, nodding, and he actually gets a tiny smile in return. “Just wash up in the bathroom,” he says, gesturing at the door adjacent to his bedroom. “And then, uh, I guess you can just borrow a shirt or something to change into and sleep in.”

Once again there’s a flash of apprehension in Jennie’s eyes, but just as quickly it’s replaced with gratefulness. “Thank you,” she tells him, even squeezing his arm gently when she makes her way past him to head to the bathroom.

He lets out a soft exhale once the bathroom door clicks shut behind her - he hadn’t even realised that he had been holding his breath. He quickly ducks into his room and grabs a new set of linens so that Jennie doesn’t have to sleep in his used ones; by the time Jennie is done in the bathroom, Jae has already managed to set himself up a nice cozy sleeping nook on his couch.

“Good night, Jae,” she calls out much later, through his bedroom door, and when Jae checks his phone in the dark for the time, it reads: 2:53 AM.

  
  
  
  


“Good morning, Jae,” is the first thing he hears when he wakes in the morning. He’s feeling dead tired, still, and confused because his body is twisted in an unfamiliar position. When he tries to stretch, he realises it’s because he’d tried to curl up to fit into the couch. When he sits up, Jennie’s sleepy laughter fills the air, and he blinks at her in bewilderment. “You still look funny during mornings,” she comments, teasing, but with a wistful tone.

“Hmm,” Jae can only hum in response because he isn’t sure how to answer that. He rubs his eyes open, only once he gets better focused eyesight, he also gets a better look at Jennie, who is standing just a couple of feet away from him, wearing nothing but an old, oversized UCLA LAW t-shirt that dipped halfway down her thighs. It brings him back to old sleepovers in his old dorm room - eventually in his old shitty Brooklyn apartment - when she would wear his clothes like they were her second skin.

He doesn’t realise immediately, but his staring must have made her feel a little self conscious, because she’s suddenly tugging down at the hem of the shirt. “Oh, sorry,” he mumbles, shifting and pulling at his comforter so he can make room for her to sit on the couch. “Has the superintendent gotten back to you yet?” He asks, reaching for his phone, and his glasses at once. _6:08 AM_ , he quietly reads on his lock screen.

Jennie shakes her head, but she does move to sit at the end of the sofa. “I was going to make coffee but—” She laughs, and turns her head to look at him. “You still don’t like to drink coffee, huh?”

He makes a face and sticks his tongue out as if in mild disgust. “I have some tea, though,” he explains, and he begins to get up from his seat. “I only have cereal to offer for breakfast though - I should probably go grocery shopping soon. Haven’t really found the time to.”

Jennie shrugs, and looks up, following his movement with her gaze. She looks like she wants to say something, but instead she breaks out into melodious giggles.

“Whaaat?” Jae asks; his brow wrinkles in confusion, but there’s a hint of laughter in his voice - she has that effect on him, she always has.

‘“Your hair,” she explains, chuckling as she stands as well, tiptoeing a bit as she reaches up to help pat down his hair. “It was sticking out funnily.” Their eyes meet as her fingers gently card through his hair, and then it’s like both of them realise at the exact same time how intimate the action is and silence takes over as they simultaneously step apart.

“I’ll make breakfast,” Jae mumbles, right before he turns to make his way to the kitchen.

“Okay,” Jennie answers, but Jae can hear the soft padding of her feet as she trails after him anyway. “Hey, so—” she starts up again as Jae opens the right cupboard to get out his jar of teabags.

“Hm?” He looks over his shoulder to find that she’s now perched on top of a stool by the kitchen island.

“So you got into—?” She gestures at the shirt that she’s wearing. “You seem to be doing well.”

He shrugs, and continues to move around the kitchen, filling his electric kettle with water before turning it’s switch on. “Halfway through my second year now,” Jae tells her.

“Must be nice,” Jennie comments; and then after a pause, “Congratulations.”

Jae shrugs yet again. “Save it for when I graduate and pass the bar.”

“Okay.”

“You really didn’t know?” He asks, regarding her suspiciously. The electric kettle is whistling now, and he has to turn away to switch it off before he can pour the water into two cups - one for each of them.

“No,” Jennie whispers, and Jae would think that’s impossible except he’s the one who made a conscious decision to stop checking any and all of her social media. He has no idea what she’s been up to, and the fact that she’s here in California - much more living in the same apartment building is a surprise that he still hasn’t quite processed properly. It hurts a bit that she’s apparently done the same with him, but he tries to push the feeling away because he doesn’t want to be a hypocrite.

“Here,” he exhales quietly as he places a cup in front of Jennie, tea bag dipped in it and already starting to color the water. “What are you doing here, Jennie?”

Her finger wrap around the warm cup as she looks up, startled by his question. “Drinking… tea?” She offers with a careful laugh.

“No, I mean—” He laughs as well, more to lighten up the atmosphere than anything else. “Here. In California— what are you doing here in California?”

“Work,” Jennie explains. “I moved here a couple of months ago for work, but the first month I was staying at a friend’s. Uh— I’m marketing associate at Yang & Co. You know it? The PR firm?”

Jae nods even though he only holds vague recognition for the company name. “You like working there?”

“It pays well,” Jennie says, smiling after she takes a small and careful sip of her tea. She purses her lips, and hums quietly as if she enjoyed the taste, and Jae allows himself to feel a little proud - he’d chosen that particular flavor because he had a feeling she’d like it.

“It’s funny you ended up in the apartment across mine.” It’s a thought that’s been running through Jae’s mind for the last six to seven hours, but it’s only now that he manages to say it loud.

“Isn’t it?” Jennie concurs with a smile. “Maybe it’s the universe’s way telling us that it’s finally okay to be in each other’s lives again.”

Jae smiles and laughs and nods as if he agrees, but despite himself, and despite her, and despite their complicated history, something else is running through his mind.

_Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling us it’s okay to give it another try._

  
  
  
  


The first time they broke up was after around almost three months of exclusively dating.

Or more than three, depending on who you ask.

Apparently an entire hundred days had passed since that first time they met at that fated party, but it’s not like Jae had been counting. Even if he was, his timer wouldn’t have started until a week later anyway, when he took Jennie out on their (disastrous, but it’s a story for another time) date.

It would have been kind of cute that Jennie, despite the cold and distant aura she displays, was actually the kind of girl who would countdown to and mark on her calendar the hundredth day of being with her boyfriend, except it wasn’t _that_ cute because Jae hadn’t even realised that kind of thing _mattered_ at all.

“I can’t believe you _forgot!”_ Jennie shrieked at him, disappointment apparent all over her features.

“Woman,” Jae winced - it wasn’t often that Jennie got hysterical, in fact that was probably the first time she’d acted anything like this and he was confused. “Calm down. Are you on your period or—?” Typical of him, he’d ran his mouth without running his words through a proper brain filter, which in turn just served to earn him even more of Jennie’s ire.

“Wow, Jae, fuck off?!” She snapped at him, and the look in her eyes should have probably been enough for him to back off, but it was a time when he was younger, and ten times stupider.

“I guess we can pencil in fucking for later,” He joked, completely without tact or taste or _thought._

Jennie grew cold and quiet, and not another word left her mouth before she gathered her things. The only thing she left behind were the echoes of the loud slamming of the door after she swung it shut behind her.

“Wow, bro.” His roommate’s voice easily cut through Jae’s disbelief at what just occurred. He had almost forgotten that Brian was even in the room - he always did sleep like a log, except apparently he wasn’t asleep at all. “You’re kind of a dumbass,” Brian added, obviously trying to keep in his laughter.

They remained broken up for a total of a week - eight days overall, until Jae caved in and went to seek Jennie out. He bought a custom made bouquet from an expensive flower shop downtown, never mind that it made his allergies act up. He thought he was going to need to do some A-grade groveling for her forgiveness - every time he recalled their argument, there was no denying about how much he fucked up.

“It’s okay,” is what Jennie said instead, after her eyes light up at the offering of flowers. “It was a little bit my fault too, anyway.”

Jae is always going to wonder what a gorgeous little lady like Jennie Kim ever saw in him that she’d been so willing and so quick to forgive him despite all the ignorant shit he’d spewed at her. When he was younger he simply tried to accept it as luck or something similar, but now that he’s older it’s just become a bigger question.

  
  
  
  


His digital wrist watch says it’s 11:34 AM when Jae runs into Jennie at the supermarket.

“You stalking me?” He jokes one day, as they both reach for the same carton of milk at the store.

“Or maybe _you’re_ stalking me,” Jennie shoots back.

“Or maybe you’re just drawn to me?” Jae laughs and throws her a playful look. Or maybe _he’s_ drawn to _her_ , he can’t tell anymore - this is just another one in the long line of coincidences that keep throwing them together. “I can’t blame you - my animal magnetism is a force of its own after all.”

Jennie throws her head back, laughing, and it’s a sound that Jae has missed so much. “Geez, Jae,” she says, lightly bumping her cart against his on purpose. “You’ve barely changed huh?”

She’s probably right that he hasn’t, but he isn’t sure if that’s a good or bad thing, so he simply shrugs in response. “You want to get coffee with me?” He asks instead; this is something he’s been meaning to do, but it took him a while to work his courage up to the right level.

“You don’t like coffee, Jae,” Jennie answers. “And based on this morning, I’m pretty sure that hasn’t changed.”

“Oh, you know what I mean,” Jae chides her, head shaking playfully at how she’s being.. “It’s the same principle! You get coffee, and I’ll—”

“And you’ll get some sweet, frothy, ice blended drink?” Jennie interjects, laughing, amused. “Probably something pink?”

Jae scoffs. “A real man isn’t ashamed of what he likes.”

“A real man, indeed,” Jennie chuckles. “But okay, coffee and whatever sugar water you order, but you’re paying.”

“Ah, but!” Jae dramatically clutches at his chest as if her words have wounded him. “I’m only a broke law student!”

“It’s okay, Jae, I don’t mind if you use your stamp card to get me my drink,” Jennie teases him. “But maybe you should take me to lunch first?”

Their banter is so easy and natural, like it’s five years ago and every barb they trade takes them one step closer to falling in love. But it isn’t, it’s the present, and Jae has to remind himself that everything is much more complicated now.

  
  
  
  


The second time Jae and Jennie broke up was a little more complicated. Jae was a fresh graduate, living off the minimum wage he earned as a bike messenger. It wasn’t exactly what he’d planned to do after college - he was supposed to go back home and apply to law school, which meant another three years paid for by his parents.

Except, as much as the California Boy in him missed home, New York had Jennie, and therefore had his heart.

“I’m fine, I’m happy, I swear.”

The words were like a robotic mantra, repeated over and over any time Jennie would try to even hint that she knew otherwise. He didn’t want to give her any reason to see him as less than perfect - and it’s stupid, obviously, because looking back, Jennie was probably the person who knew more than anyone else, right from the beginning, just how flawed he was.

But Jae was stubborn, and on one particular evening, even as he stood strong and stoic, while Jennie cried her eyes out as she told him, “If you don’t want to open up to me, then what’s the point of being together?” He knew it was _his_ loss, _his_ fault, _his_ idiocy that was causing this.

It only took Jae a little over a week before he figured out how stupid he was being, and he found himself standing in front the steps of the brownstone apartment that Jennie shared with her friend, Jisoo. He wore an old vintage trench coat that he bought at some thrift store at Greenwich Village, whose sleeves were too too short on him, and he held a pair of bluetooth speakers up above his head, the iPod in his pocket directing it to play a handful of cheesy songs, all with the name ‘Jenny’ in their titles. (He made a mix out of it too, ridiculously ugly CD art and all that he made on MS Paint because he isn’t exactly gifted in the graphics design department.)

Brian stood a few feet away from, cackling obnoxiously instead of being a better, more supportive friend, but Jae didn't care because Jennie had tears in her eyes as she ran down the steps of the building so she can throw herself at him.

“Say anything,” he mumbled, and she nodded because she's the one who made him watch that movie to begin with. “I love you, Jennie, and that's the most important thing to met right now.”

Maybe if the two of them were less in love, it would have been more obvious that grand romantic gestures ripped off old movie classics don’t really fix anything in the long run, but they were, they really were too deep in love and in that moment, the only thing that mattered to both of them was that they still wanted to be together.

  
  
  
  


“So, your work? Is that all that brought you here to the west coast?”

They end up at a small, locally owned burger joint, their bags of groceries safely tucked away in the backseat of Jae’s old car. True enough, Jennie helps herself to a tall mocha latte while Jae orders a strawberries and cream based ice blended drink. (“Shut, sugar has been my only vice,” Jae had immediately defended his choice before Jen could even make a crack at it.)

“The work offer made it final, but I guess you can say I needed a big change in my life,” Jennie explains. “I really didn’t think I’d end up running into you here. I mean—” she begins to stutter, which amuses Jae to no end because she’s always been better at carrying herself; she looks at him like she’s expecting him to help her out by loudly interrupting, maybe with a joke or two like he’s prone to doing, but he doesn’t. He smiles and simply waits for her to continue. “I mean, I guess I knew you moved back home, but I didn’t really think we’d run into each other like this because California is so big! Fate’s funny, right?”

And then they talk about anything and everything - like the California weather, and how Jennie is loving the sun. About how Jae doesn’t really miss New York, except for that one hotdog cart near his old work place that sold the best hotdogs, but he also talks about how he tries not to think about it too much because he’s _trying_ to have a more healthy diet these days. Jennie talks about her work, and Jae talks about law school and how he actually loves it, _loves studying law_. He also asks her if she has her drivers’ license yet, and when she doesn’t, he teases her about it because L.A. is no New York, and she’s going to have a hard time if she thinks she can count on taking expensive cabs everywhere. He cracks dumb joke after dumb joke, and Jennie laughs at each one.

It’s so easy to fall into easy companionship with Jennie, but Jae isn’t sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

At one point, the conversation finally reaches a lull, and Jae studies her as she pushes her dessert (apple pie, because Jae recommended it) around her plate, and he’s wondering - _waiting,_ even, for Jennie to offer more about her life. But she doesn’t add anything more, just flashing a smile as if she has nothing more to offer so Jae decides it’s on him.

“I thought you’d be married by now.” He pretends to be casual about it, even chuckling as if it’s no big deal, but in reality, his heart is beating rapidly and he’s nervous about how she’s going to answer.

She looks up from her drink, and their eyes meet. “Yeah? I thought the same, actually,” she answers, and then there’s a pause before she follows it with forced laughter. To Jae, she just looks sad - maybe a little wistful. He feels bad and he almost reaches across the table to take her hand in his, but he reminds himself that he lost the right to do that years ago.

  
  
  
  


The thing is this: the last bit of news Jae ever heard about Jennie, roughly a year after he had moved back home to sunny California, is that she’d gotten engaged. It wasn’t healthy, but of course he’d found himself looking through her Facebook profile, scrolling through pictures and posts and acquainting himself with the guy she’d moved on to - the man she had replaced him with.

“This is fucked up bro,” he remembers complaining to Brian over messenger, after sending his best friend picture after picture that he finds on Jennie’s Facebook. “This guy basically makes a move on her a month after we break up—” He’s done the math in his head, and that’s what it adds up to, “—and now they’re getting married?!”

“Bro,” Brian typed, and Jae could almost hear the exasperated sigh he’s sure his friend let out in that moment. “You broke up with her. You left her. She moved on. It’s been a year. If you hate it, then do something about it.”

The words had remained seen, but not replied to for days - mostly because Brian was right, and Jae was annoyed that he was right. It took him seven days to get his head out of his own ass, and then he consciously opened all of his social media and proceeded to unfollow Jennie on each of them.

He’s not sure if that’s what Brian meant by ‘do something about it,’ but it was doing _something_ anyway.

“I’m done with her,” he typed in the message tab he had with Brian. “Finished. Finito.”

  
  
  
  


Jae’s time with Jennie had encompassed a total of almost three years, and for the most part, it had been a pretty good run.

It was the kind of love that consumed him completely, the kind that filled his heart completely to the point that he didn’t know what to do with himself and the excess of feelings. It’s a little crazy and overwhelming when he looks back on it, but at the time it felt nothing but good.

He was in love, and for some reason, the wonderful woman that he had fallen for was absolutely crazy for him too.

The spring break of Jennie’s second year, Jae had rented a car and taken her on entire road trip across the border, straight to Canada where Brian had moved to just a couple of months ago.

“It’s perfect,” Jae declared, when he told Brian his plans over the phone, just two weeks before the trip was meant to happen. “I get to spend some time with my girlfriend, and I get to see my bestest bro in the world, who, I assume, will have no problem will letting us stay over for a couple of days, no?”

Brian had acted a little less enthused (“Not sure third wheeling you and Jen will be a productive use of my time,” he pointed out, but Jae easily dismissed him with, “Whatever, man, you did the same thing during the entirety of our senior year, what’s a few days more, right?”), but he’d been more than a generous host and tour guide once they were there.

Jennie demanded to take a boat tour to see the Niagara, and Brian, even though he kept making comments about how touristy it all is, until Jae finally snapped at him with “Shut up bro, you just moved here, it’s not like you’ve seen all these sights before!”

“I LOVE YOU JENNIE KIM!” Jae had yelled at the vast walls of water that surrounded them, when they finally took the tour. Misty water was spraying across his face, and his body, and his voice was partly drowned by the loud rushing noise of the water, but it didn’t matter because Jennie was beaming ear to ear as she wrapped her small, delicate arms around his lithe frame. “I LOVE YOU THE MOST IN THE WORLD!” He continued, and from the corner of his eye, he could spot Brian rolling his eyes while laughing exasperatedly.

“I love you,” he repeated, softer, just for Jennie to hear, and she’d looked up at him, eyes filled with the same kind of love he could feel flowing through his entire being.

“I love you too, loser,” she whispered, giggling, right before she tiptoed, lips kissing whichever parts of his face she could reach.

Obviously, like some old Greek philosopher once said, the only thing permanent in life is change and Jae and Jennie aren’t immune to that - but right then, right in that moment, Jae really thought that Jennie was always going to be the one for him.

  
  
  
  


  
“Hey, maybe next time we can, uh—” Jae laughs, ducking his head as if he’s embarrassed. They’re standing in front of Jennie’s door - right across his own, and he can't help but wonder, at the back of his head if this will ever feel normal.

“Next time?” A wisp of hair fall over one eye when she peers up at him, and Jae is tempted to reach over and push it away. Instead he balls both hands into fists, and continues to just smile.

“Next time,” he tries again. “Maybe we can actually make plans? Maybe we can see a movie— ah. There’s actually this concert that I’m looking forward to, would you want to go with—” He pauses, and laughs, because he knows he sounds ridiculous. “I mean it’s not until next month, but—”

Jennie laughs, and the she reaches out and places her hand against Jae’s cheek. Her palm feels warm to the touch, but Jae’s pretty sure his own face is just as hot and flushed. _Goddammit, Jaehyung,_ he thinks. _You’re not a teenager, you’re not even in your early twenties, so get a fucking a grip._

“Ask me next month then,” Jennie says finally, and just like that, she’s taking her hand back. “Or whenever it is that you get tickets.” She laughs, and Jae decides right then that even now, that sound is still pure music to his ears.

Jae smiles, and then he watches as Jennie looks through her purse for her house key. “Jennie,” he says her name, and even he isn’t sure why. He has nothing more to say, really, but when she slotted her key into the lock, a certain panicked feeling rises in his chest, and he feels an overwhelming need to stop her from moving.

“Hm?” Jennie turns to face him, looking expectant. In that moment, there’s nothing more that Jae wants than to surprise her, and pull her into his arms and give her a kiss she’ll never forget. But then their eyes meet, Jae deflates, and he chickens out completely.

“Nothing,” he mumbles, and the only thing he can offer is a cowardly smile. “I’ll see you around.”

Jae checks his watch for the time after Jennie closes her door behind her: 4:43PM.

  
  
  


It’s when Jennie is halfway through her third year of college (which meant their relationship was fast approaching it’s third year mark) that Jae decides to move back home to California.

He was working a minimum wage job selling vinyl records at a small hipster store at Greenwich Village, that somehow always felt like it was on the verge of closing down. All of his friends have moved on with their lives, and his own girlfriend was busy with school, and not to mention at the obvious prime of her youth.

“So, just like that, you’re leaving me?” Jennie’s heartbreak had been obvious from the way her voice cracked - was obvious from her expression alone. Still, Jae had played it off coolly.

“There’s nothing here for me, Jennie,” he told her, trying his best to keep his tone even, despite the fact that his heart was loudly pounding against his chest.

“ME?!” Jennie practically shrieked. “I’m here?!”

“I’m wasting my life here, Jen,” he pointed out, unable to look at her directly. “The plan was always to go to a law school back home, and then help my Dad out at _his_ firm.”

“Jae…” Jennie frowned; she knew that those were Jae’s original plans when she met him, but she also knew that Jae never had his heart set on studying law. What she doesn’t know is that Jae has never really had his heart set on anything until he met her.

“I need to do this,” he answered, before Jennie could get another word in. He doesn’t even suggest an attempt at a long distance relationship - it felt selfish and unfair, at least that’s what he told himself. The truth was that he was a coward.

“What about us, Jae?” Jennie asked, her voice breaking even more. “You’re just leaving me. Really? We aren’t even going to _try?”_

“There’s nothing to try, Jennie. You have to live your life, and I have to live mine.”

  
  
  
  


_Bro, you’re never going to believe everything about today._

The message he sent his best friend at approximately three that afternoon - while Jen had gone on a quick bathroom break at the place where they ate at, right before they head back to his car - gets marked as read at exactly 5:18 PM, which meant it was well past eight in the evening for his best friend in Toronto.

“What’s up?” Brian asks, and the blinking three dots on screen that indicate he’s still typing something doesn’t disappear, except Jae is too impatient at this point.

 _Jen’s here,_ he types, and he keeps on going, not even bothering to wait for any more replies from Brian.

 _Here, as in here, in California, in fucking L.A., IN MY FUCKING APARTMENT BUILDING._  
_Right across the hall, WTF right?_  
_The universe is playing with me man._  
_She stayed over last night because she forgot her keys or something._  
_Whatever._ _  
_ Fuck, Brian.

He takes a deep breath, and then he stares at his screen. The three dots have disappeared, but his messages have all been marked read - he’s pretty sure Brian is confused and he can’t blame him.

 _Shit,_ he starts typing again. _Pretty sure I’m not over her._

“Jae,” Brian finally gets back to him a good five minutes later. “Didn’t I tell you before? If that’s the case, then fucking do something about it.”

  
  
  
  


It reads 10:23 PM when there’s a knock on Jae’s door.

Once again, he’s confused who it could be, but even as he crosses the living room to get to the door, he can feel a certain kind of expectation rising up his chest.

“Jennie,” he practically breathes her name out when he opens the door, and his expectations are made reality, because there she is, by his doorway, looking up at him just as she had not even twenty-four hours earlier. Except this time, the expression in her eyes are different; where before there was surprise and confusion, this time there’s just longing and frustration. He can tell, because it’s the exact same thing that he’s feeling.

“Jae,” she returns, and he waits - a second, two, three, and then he’s pulling her towards him, and she’s jumping on him at the same time, lean legs easily wrapping around his waist. He wraps his arms around her, only to have to adjust his hold on her when he starts to move away from the door.

“You’re heavy,” he teases, when he kicks the door close, but he doesn’t really mean it - she feels so good in his hold that her weight is the last thing in his mind.

“Shut up,” she tells him, giggling as she grabs his face, not bothering to say anything more so she can just kiss him.

Jae almost trips once, on his coffee table, but Jennie just giggles against his lips and he luckily manages to regain his balance anyway, and soon they’re both falling on his bed, both laughing as they both desperately and hurriedly rid each other of clothes.

  
  
  
  


The first time they tell each other those three precious words, it’s Jennie who says it first.

“I love you. I love you, I love you,” she repeated over and over, in between planting quick, excited kisses all over his face.

They were in his dorm room, and she was sitting on his lap, holding his face with both hands, and she has the biggest, happiest smile on her face. Jae was running late for his class, but he was considering just skipping it altogether because the idea of spending time with his girlfriend was certainly much more enticing.

“I love you,” she whispered again, giggling even as her lips brushed against his.

They’d only been dating for a month then, and for a moment, after Jennie had dropped the first ‘I love you,’ Jae had frozen up, unable how to react. But then she’d kept going, and soon his laughter had mixed in with her giggles.

“I love you too,” he’d found himself saying back; he’d fully expected the words to feel foreign and unnatural, but they slid off his tongue so easily and naturally. And when she’d squealed in response, he almost made a crack about how she was going to make him lose his hearing one day, but he didn’t. Instead he allowed himself to wrap his arms around her tighter, more possessively. “I love you too,” he said again, because his heart felt like it was going to explode if he didn’t somehow let the feelings go. “I love you too, Jennie.”

  
  
  
  


“What are we doing, Jae?”

When Jae wakes up (7:03 AM, the clock on the wall says this time), Jennie is already up. She’s sitting on the bed, legs gathered close against her chest to allow her to rest her chin on her knees.

“Huh?” Jae is sleepy and confused, and for a good several seconds he thinks he’s dreaming because _how is Jennie Kim here with him?_ “What’s going on?”

He notices Jennie biting the inside of her cheek as his blurry vision comes into focus, and then he hears her giggle softly right before her hand shoots out to help pat down his hair. “No, Jae,” she says, “You’re not dreaming.” It’s as if she’s read his mind - and maybe she has, maybe she still knows him as well as she used to that she knows immediately what he’s thinking.

“You’re really here, huh?” Jae chuckles sleepily, reaching up to take her hand - the one that’s now lazily combing through his messy hair.

“I really am,” Jennie sighs. “But what are we doing?”

“Laying in bed together?” Jae offers, tugging at her hand as he tries to make her lie back down again. “Because it’s early Sunday, and it would be nice to sleep in?” With his free hand, he reaches over to poke at her side - he remembers that she’s ticklish there, and sure enough he gets his desired response when her body automatically jerks in response, and as a result she ends up falling sideways on the bed with a laugh.

“Jae—” She whines, squeezing his hand as she turns to face him. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

He stares at her, and in his mind he comes up with a hundred words that that have the same meaning as _beautiful_. “I don’t know,” he mumbles, bringing her hand to his lips so he can kiss the back of it. “Is this weird? Do you regret last night?”

Jennie is nervously chewing on her bottom lip now, and Jae is kind of distracted by it, kind of wants to move in and do that himself - but he holds himself back, waiting for Jennie to answer. After a few seconds she gives him a silent head shake.

“Good,” Jae answers, softly exhaling with relief. “Neither did I.”

“Is it crazy? To try this again?” Jennie asks. “When I moved here, I kept telling myself that it had nothing to do with wanting to see you again—” Her breath hitches, and Jae’s brow creases with curiosity at what she’s about to say. “But when I saw you, everything just made sense. Like I was just meant to come here because you’re here.” She squeaks, obviously self-conscious, and as a deep shade of red spreads across her cheeks, she moves and presses her face against Jae’s chest. “That was really embarrassing to say but— I missed you so much you loser.”

“Jennie—” Jae’s voice is softer now, and he reaches out for her, tugging at her hand so he can pull her down with him. “It probably _is_  crazy— I mean, love in general is crazy, don’t you think?” He chuckles quietly, placing his hand gently against the beck of her neck so he can pull her in even more, his lips brushing sweetly against her forehead. “And I’ve always been crazy, maybe— which means you’ve always been crazy for falling for me.”

“Jae!” Jennie laughs and hits him lightly against his chest. “Shut up and be serious!”

“I am!” He laughs and catches her hand again, this time to squeeze it. “I’m trying to say, Jen, that I love you. I’m still crazy about you, and I’d gladly continue being crazy if it means we’re going to do this again.”

  
  
  


_Is there something wrong with your eyes?_

Jae has had this weird eye tic ever since he was young, way before he even met Jennie. It especially acted up whenever he got too focused and he used to be teased a lot for it as a kid which made him self-conscious about for a while. Inexplicably, Jennie was fascinated by it, and she always liked to point it out when he does. She used to love to point it out, and ask him teasingly because she’s a sap who loves to hear the same answer Jae gives each and every time.

 _Yeah, my eyes are all wrong because they can only see you,_ Jae used to say.

“Your eyes are doing the blinky thing again,” she points out now, as she moves around his kitchen, preparing breakfast and humming a soft tune that Jae thinks he hasn’t heard in years. “There’s still something wrong with them?” She asks, giggling, because even now, of course she remembers what the answer is going to be.

“Must be,” Jae answers, a content smile on his lips as he keeps his eyes on her. “Because even now, I can only see you.”

  
  
  


 

_ fin. _

 

**Author's Note:**

> [ 5 ] Comments, and any form of feedback, of course, are greatly appreciated.


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